Bashir was packed and ready to go. His bag in hand, he paused to study the world he'd spent himself to help, these past few months. It wouldn't be easy to say good bye to the people he'd worked with so closely in that time. But he couldn't go without seeing some of them one last time.

He trudged down into town toward the new hospital, a series of tents scattered around one of the intact university buildings, away from the still-smoldering ruins of the clinic. Julian couldn't help thinking that it was actually much more appropriate to have a place of education as the home of the relief mission rather than the judicial building in which they'd housed the first clinic. In the amazingly clear morning light, it almost looked optimistic.

Lausten and Kato had just stepped outside the hall, pausing at the top of the long gray stone steps when they saw him. He joined them there.

"Trey. Any updates on the bioremediation pilot project?"

The reconstructionist nodded gravely. "Tejral checked in from Malavna City a couple of hours ago. So far, everything's good. Another week or so, and we'll be able to expand it."

"Good, good." A fraction of a second's hesitation. "Eske?"

"Rachell's gonna make it," he replied somberly. "Won't be quick, and it won't be easy, but she's gonna make it."

"I'm glad to hear it. Wish her well for me." After everything that had happened, he wasn't going to press her about Moset. At the moment it seemed almost unimportant.

Lausten nodded. "I will. Thanks." An awkward moment. "Well, I gotta get going. Still got a lot to do today, and I just wasted an hour."

"An hour spent with someone you care about isn't wasted," he replied softly.

The other man finally smiled. "I figured that out a long ago. Spent the last few months trying to get her to realize it. Don't plan on giving up now." He drew a deep breath, nodded again, and strode away down the long stone steps.

Bashir turned to the red-headed woman.

"Aya."

"Julian." Her dark eyes were still swollen and bloodshot from a mixture of smoke and tears.

"I understand you're staying too."

She nodded her head. "I have to. There's so much still to do here." A beat. "It's what Vak would have done. It's what he would have wanted me to do."

"Is it what you want to do?"

After a moment, Aya finally smiled. "Yes, it's what I want to do."

"Even under Cardassian direction?"

She nodded again. "I don't foresee any problems working with Parmak. And I think what happened the last few days has convinced the Directorate and the Reunion Project that a civil war isn't in Cardassia's best interest, and they've got to find a way to work together."

"True. Well, I wish you luck. I'll miss working with you."

"Thank you. I'll miss working with you, too." They embraced for a few seconds. "Travel safely...."

"Thank you," he replied, and watched her head toward the camp where they'd both spent so much of the past few months.

Bashir wasn't going to miss that place.

He found Dr. Ptacek waiting outside one of the tents they've moved their patients to. The Cardassian boy, Kehin, stood with her almost protectively. His features were as solemn as the woman's. He seemed wrong, in Bashir's eyes, without Ibis shadowing him. But Ibis was with Glinn Melleen, tending to the Cardassian bureaucratic details of verifying their kinship.

"Ndali." He looked down at the boy. "Kehin."

"Julian."

"Dr. Bashir."

"You've still got a big job ahead of you." They shook hands in the human fashion, then the Andorian way.

"I know," she acknowledged. "But I won't be working alone. The new relief teams are here, Aya's staying, Parmak will be back on his feet in a day or two. We'll get it done."

"Let me know how it goes." His glance strayed to Kehin again. "In everything."

"I will. Farewell."

"Farewell...."

Finally, bag in hand, he returned to the relief team tent city, stopping outside Jake's tent. He supposed the young man would be ready by go.

"Jake, are you packed?" he called. "The Nightingale's ready to break orbit."

The tall young man stepped out of his tent. His hands were empty.

"Jake?"

Sisko gave him a grin of mixed emotions. "Sorry Julian, but I've decided to stick around here."

"What? You're not going back to Bajor?"

"Oh, I'll be back!" Jake assured him. "Just not yet. There's still a lot of work to do here. And there's an election in less than a week -- that's gonna be big news. Somebody's gotta be here to report about it."

Julian stared at him a long moment, then found a smile, nodded, and held out his hand. "I'll look forward to reading your story."

Jake shook his hand. "Tell Kasidy I won't be gone long, though, okay? I'm looking forward to being a big brother!"

"I'll tell her." The handshake just wasn't gonna do it. Julian pulled the younger man into a painfully tight hug. The boy was gone; he was going to miss the man. "You keep yourself safe, you hear?"

"I hear. I will."